A vessel close hauled does not break this Rule by luffing a little so long as she does not get so close to the wind that her sails shake, but luffing to the extent of 21 points is an infringement of this Rule.1 Giving room to an overtaking vessel is not a breach of this Rule, and a vessel must not obstinately keep her course when, by departing from it, a collision can be avoided.3

A sailing vessel must not go about ahead of a steamship so as to embarrass her and make it difficult for her to get out of the way. But when beating through a narrow channel a sailing ship may tack at the proper time and is under no obligation to give notice that she intends to do so.*

It has been held that under ordinary circumstances a tug and tow are not justified in crossing ahead of a fleet of warships which has the tug and tow on the starboard hand, and that under this Rule the tug and tow ought not to keep their course and speed."

ARTICLE 22.

Every vessel which is directed by these Rules to keep out of the way of another vessel shall, if the circumstances of the case admit, avoid crossing ahead of the other.

This Article is new to the Regulations, and applies to all the cases governed by Articles 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, and 26.

It does not apply to the End-on Rule (Article 18), for by that Rule no direct injunctions are given to the vessels to keep out of the way of each other, but only explicit

1 The Earl Wemyss (1889), 61 L. T. 289; 6 Asp. M. C. 471.

2 The Franconia (1876), 2 P. D. 11.

3 The Lake St. Clair v. The Underwriter (1877), 3 Asp. M. C. 361.

• The Palatine (1872), 1 Asp. M. C. 468.

H.M.S. Sanspareil (1900), 82 L. T. 606; 9 Asp. M. C. 75.

directions to be observed when vessels are in certain positions.

If Article 22 applied to vessels approaching end on to each other, in one instance compliance with the directions of the End-on Rule (Article 18) would cause a breach of this Article. For example, when vessels are from 0 to 4 degrees on the starboard bows of each other, Article 18 orders them to port and pass ahead of each other, thus breaking this Article.

By this Rule a steam vessel should port to a red light on her starboard bow. She may, however, stop without porting and wait till the other vessel has passed (Article 23).

A sailing vessel, bound to give way for another vessel, must by this Article, if wishing to cross the course of the other vessel, go astern of her.

ARTICLE 23.

Every steam vessel which is directed by these Rules to keep out of the way of another vessel shall, on approaching her, if necessary, slacken her speed or stop or reverse.

This Article is a modification of Article 18 of the 1884 Rules, which directed that every steam vessel, when approaching another vessel so as to involve risk of collision, should slacken her speed or stop and reverse, if necessary. Under this Rule, when two steamships are approaching each other, one only will have to act; the other vessel having to keep her course and speed (Article 21).

The Rule does not apply to vessels meeting under the End-on Rule (Article 18); for under that Rule the vessels are not directed to keep out of the way of each other, but only to follow a certain course, viz., to port their helms. When, however, one of the vessels, meeting under the End-on Rule, is obviously adopting a wrong manœuvre,

the other vessel would probably be held in fault for the collision if she did not, as soon as she saw that there was risk of collision, ease, stop or reverse her engines, or take such steps as a prudent seaman would take under the circumstances (Article 29).

The policy and principle of this Rule is clearly to inculcate the necessity of immediately taking the speed off the vessel when in such proximity to another vessel as to render a collision probable, and the Rule applies unless there be something which makes it necessary for the safety of navigation that the Rule as to stopping and reversing should not be acted upon.1

The necessity to slacken speed or to stop and reverse arises as soon as it becomes apparent to the eye of an officer of ordinary skill and care that if the ships continue to approach, they will, in all likelihood, either shave close or collide.2

When a steamship hears the one blast of a foghorn on the port bow, indicating that a sailing ship is passing from port to starboard across the steamship's course, it is the duty of the steamship, if the position and distance of the sailing ship cannot be judged, not only to stop her engines at once, but to reverse them.3

3

ARTICLE 24.

Notwithstanding anything contained in these Rules, every vessel, overtaking any other, shall keep out of the way of the overtaken vessel.

Every vessel coming up with another vessel from any direction more than two points abaft her beam, i.e., in such a position, with reference to the vessel which she is overtaking, that at night she would be

1 The Khedive (1880), 5 App. Cases, 880-882.

2 The Beryl (1884), 9 P. D. 141; The Ceto (1889), 14 App. Cases, 686. 3 The Merthyr (1898), 8 Asp. M. C. 475. See ante, p. 37.

· unable to see either of that vessel's side-lights, shall be deemed to be an overtaking vessel; and no subsequent alteration of the bearing between the two vessels shall make the overtaking vessel a crossing vessel within the meaning of these Rules, or relieve her of the duty of keeping clear of the overtaken vessel until she is finally past and clear.

As by day the overtaking vessel cannot always know with certainty whether she is forward of or abaft this direction from the other vessel, she should, if in doubt, assume that she is an overtaking vessel and keep out of the way.

The overtaking Rule as it now stands makes it quite clear in what positions a vessel is to consider herself an overtaking vessel, and that she continues to be an overtaking vessel until she is quite past and clear of the overtaken vessel. The Rule does not, however, state the precise moment when a vessel is to consider herself an overtaking ship (see ante, page 2).

How she is to pass the overtaken vessel is settled by Article 22. She must not pass ahead, nor may she after passing along the side of the overtaken vessel cut across her bows, as she continues to be subject to Article 24 till she is finally past and clear of the overtaken vessel.

If there is a probability of a close shave or of a collision with the overtaken ship, the overtaking vessel must slacken her speed, or stop and reverse, as the circumstances of the case require (Article 23).

By day a steam vessel can only in one position have any doubt how she ought to act, and that is when she is approaching the starboard side of a steam vessel from a direction of about 2 points abaft the beam of such steam vessel.

She is either a crossing vessel and bound to keep her course and speed or she is an overtaking vessel and must

1 The Molière, [1893] P. 217.

give way. If in doubt as to whether she is a crossing or overtaking vessel, she must under this Rule assume that she is an overtaking vessel, and give way for the vessel she is approaching.

A steam vessel approaching the port side of another steam vessel from a direction of about two points abaft the beam will have no doubt as to what are the proper manœuvres to adopt. She is either an overtaking ship or else she is a crossing ship, and Articles 19, 22 and 23 will apply.

A sailing ship overtaking a steam ship must, notwithstanding Article 20, keep out of the way of the steam ship.

The duty of the overtaken ship is to keep her course and speed. If she has to manoeuvre for a third vessel, she must not deviate from her course more than is necessary to avoid immediate danger, and the overtaking ship must then take care to keep out of the way of the overtaken ship.1

The overtaken ship may, however, sheer away from the course of the overtaking ship so long as she does not hamper her manœuvres. For example: a steam vessel that was being overtaken by another steam vessel only three ship's lengths off on her port quarter ported and afterward hard-a-ported her helm, was not held in fault for a collision that ensued2 (see Article 21, page 51).

When two vessels are sailing close-hauled on the starboard tack, the leading vessel must not go about unless obliged to do so to avoid a danger. The following vessel must then tack or keep out of the way of the leading vessel. When the leading vessel wears instead of tacks, she must keep clear of the following ship, and she ought not to adopt this unexpected operation without some good reason or without sufficient sea room for the purpose.*

1 The Saragossa (1892), 7 Asp. M. C. 289.

2 The Franconia (1878), 2 P. D. 13; The Banshee (1887), 6 Asp. M. C. 221. 3 The Priscilla (1870), L. R. 3 A. & E. 125.

• The Falkland (1863), Br. & Lush, 204,